When my Father-in-Law was still in good health, he pulled Daryl aside one day at the farm and pointed out the gum tree he had chosen to have his ashes placed under when the day finally came....Bill died at the good old age of 85 and true to his wishes, a lovely ceremony was held under his chosen gum. The girls know he is beneath the soil as they all took a turn at digging the hole!
They love "Papa Bill's Tree", and now as they begin to venture out further from the farm house, this spot has become somewhere special for them to go. It is only marked by an old bench seat, but also quite often by the pile of bikes and baskets and other things gathered along the way. I'm sure Bill would approve of the noise, the sound of little girls playing, arguing, laughing.
I never really noticed that tree until the day came to scatter Bill's ashes, but it took my breath away. It is by far the most majestic tree on our property, it's bark swirling around as though formed during a wild storm. Yet now it stands, large and quiet except for the wind that lifts the sound of life through it's branches. A gentle old man it is....
